This is a riveting account of the arrest and prosecution of one of Nazi Germany’s biggest critics.
Sophie Scholl was part of a group known as the White Rose, an organization bent on ending Hitler’s war machine (particularly on the eastern front).
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It is 1943 and Scholl is arrested along with her brother for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets at a university in Munich.
The dialogue between Scholl and her interrogator is sharp and illuminating: the arguments both make for and against Nazism in Germany seem like they could be the warring sides of every German’s conscience at that time.
Is total war the answer to Germany’s problems? Should there be payback for the humiliation suffered by the Germans because of the Treaty of Versailles?
Hitler brought prosperity to Germany but at what cost?
There is also friction between Scholl and her interrogator because she is a student and he came from humble roots as a small town police officer. On more than one occasion he points out she was studying on the Reich’s dime.
He believes it is necessary to enforce the law, even if he doesn’t agree with them. Scholl believes one’s conscience should determine which laws should be followed or ignored.
Julia Jentsch does a remarkable job portraying Scholl, especially her understated heroism. She is fearless in some ways but the viewer is allowed to see her vulnerability at times.
“Sophie Scholl: The Final Days,” which is in German with English subtitles, is now available on DVD.
Murphy can be reached at [email protected]
